General Information

Government Type

Public School

Entity

Morgan County School District

Entity Website

www.morgan.k12.ut.us

Public Body

Morgan County School District

Notice Information

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Notice Title

Minutes of Board Meeting

Notice Tags

Public Schools

Notice Type(s)

Meeting

Event Start Date & Time

November 10, 2015 05:00 PM

Description/Agenda

MINUTES MORGAN COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD MEETING Tuesday, November 10, 2015, District Office 5:00 p.m. Present: Board Members: President Ken Durrant, Vice President Mark Farmer, Neil Carrigan, Ted Taylor, Ron Blunck, Student Board Member Jacob Rice District Staff: Superintendent Doug Jacobs, Business Administrator D'Lynn Poll, Secretary Denise Rich Other Staff and Patrons: Kelli Petty, Dillon Petty, Blaine Fackrell, Wade Murdock, Jackie Rutherford, Kovi Christiansen, Kandi Christiansen, Heidi Andreasen, Gina Stuart, Tim Wolff, Launa Costley, Kathy Nelson, Jenna Bate, Rachel Love, Marta West, Emily Woody, Jennie Earl, Katherine Hadley, Sam Tingey Board Meeting: Welcome/Pledge/Prayer: President Ken Durrant welcomed everyone. Ted Taylor led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance and gave the prayer. Consent Agenda: MOTION: Ron Blunck made a motion to approve the consent agenda. SECOND: The motion was seconded by Ted Taylor. DISCUSSION: Vice President Farmer asked for clarification on page 3 paragraph 6 of the minutes. It read: 'Vice President Mark Farmer would like Mr. Litchfield to provide alternative options to purchasing an additional bus.' It will be corrected to read: 'Vice President Farmer would like Mr. Litchfield to provide information on the various options considered in making his recommendation.' APPROVAL: The motion passed unanimously with the change Vice President Farmer made. Public Comment: Jennie Earl asked board members to allow a coach to use the Trojan Century Center to teach tennis lessons without paying the amount established in the policy for 'profit making organizations.' Superintendent Jacobs said the issue is the profit made by the coach. He will talk to the athletic director and work with the high school tennis coach in finding a solution. Superintendent's Report: Employees/Volunteer of the Month Morgan Middle School Assistant Principal Renn Hoopes honored Kovi Christiansen, 6th grade teacher and Gwen Tanner, special education aide, as employees of the month. MHS Fall Student Activity Recognitions Superintendent Jacobs and MHS Principal Murdock congratulated students on their successes and presented certificates to the following: Three A State Volleyball Champion players and coaches, Lindsey Toone, semifinalist at state tennis, Dillon Petty, FFA first place winner at the individual Co-op quiz and All State Academic students. Adult Education Graduates Adult Education Director Blaine Fackrell honored Romney Cox who earned a GED and Sam Tingey who earned a high school diploma through the adult education program. MHS Football Field Request Head Football Coach Kovi Christiansen showed a PowerPoint on the advantages of a turf football field. He encouraged board members to start thinking about this as a future project. He is looking into grant possibilities for rural communities that could help with funding. The PowerPoint will be sent to all board members. MHS Trip Requests There were no trip requests. Enrollment and Ideas for Growth Nothing was discussed. Business Administrator's Report: District Yearly Financial Audit Auditor James Gilbert met with the finance committee and explained in detail the results of the district audit. He gave a brief summary to board members. He said the district received the highest opinion possible on the Financial Statement, the Single Audit, and the Management Letter. The recommendations given last year have been corrected. Mr. Gilbert said segregation of duties in a small district is very difficult but a lot of improvements have been made over the last few years. There were a few problems with receipting and depositing on the school level. D'Lynn Poll met with the secretaries and that issue has been resolved. Mr. Gilbert said the district is doing a really good job. The district is above other districts, the staff is doing a great job, and information is received in a timely manner. If grades were given, Morgan District would receive an A. President Durrant and Vice President Farmer thanked Mr. Gilbert. Discussion Items: Utah Core Standards - Language Arts Grade 5 Fifth grade teachers from Morgan Elementary and Mountain Green Elementary talked about Language Arts and the Utah Core. There comments were: - Writing and grammar curriculum is appropriate and interesting. Teachers focus on writing and push for good results. - It is frustrating that there is almost no grammar on the test but teachers are teaching grammar and spending a lot of time on reading strategies. - The test and the core do not match. - Teachers are able to pull all subject areas together. Reading is used in science and math is used in language arts. - Students dig deeper into problem solving. President Durrant asked if teachers are teaching to the test. Principal Andreasen said they are teaching to the standard and the requirements of that grade level so students are prepared for the next level. Vice President Farmer wants to make sure teachers have the resources they need. DCA Administrative Relations President Durrant said this is the first reading of the DCA Administrative Relations policy. Board members are to review it and contact Superintendent Jacobs if they have any changes. Approval Items: District Financial Audit MOTION: Vice President Mark Farmer made a motion to approve the district financial audit. SECOND: Ron Blunck seconded the motion. DISCUSSION: Vice President Farmer thanked Business Administrator D'Lynn Poll and Auditor James Gilbert from Gilbert and Stewart. APPROVAL: The motion passed unanimously. Bus Purchase MOTION: Vice President Farmer made a motion to purchase an additional bus with seats that can accommodate restraints. SECOND: Ron Blunck seconded the motion. DISCUSSION: There was a discussion on whether or not to order the new bus with seats that can accommodate restraints. Transportation Supervisor Ron Litchfield said seat belts are not mandated at this time. Vice President Farmer and Ron Blunck said it would be prudent to order the bus with restraint capability. Mr. Litchfield will order the bus immediately. Superintendent Jacobs said the purchase of another bus could be built into the budget this spring. APPROVAL: The motion passed unanimously to purchase a bus with restraint ready seats. Policy ECH Human Sexuality President Ken Durrant said the Human Sexuality policy was tabled last board meeting because of a couple of comments about the Supersize Me and Body Imaging videos. Board members were told that the video Supersize Me had been pulled from the state list. He said the state doesn't promote or deny the resources they just provide them. The Supersize Me (educational edited version) video has not been pulled from the state list. MOTION: Ron Blunck made a motion to open a discussion of the ECH Human Sexuality curriculum. SECOND: Vice President Farmer seconded the motion. APPROVAL: The motion passed unanimously to discuss to ECH Human Sexuality curriculum. DISCUSSION: Superintendent Jacobs said both videos the Supersize Me (educational edited version) and the Body Imaging videos have been added to the opt in/out-out form. Neil Carrigan said teachers are having a hard time determining which students have opted in or opted out of which topics. He said teachers are spending more time making sure students are where they are supposed to be than teaching the curriculum. Ron Blunck is very comfortable with the curriculum and how it is being taught and parents do have the right to opt out their child if they so choose. He said both teachers feel students need to be taught these things. Teachers share the same community values and are passionate about the kids. Vice President Mark Farmer would like to check and see if option 2 could be removed. It gives parents the option to pick and choose which topics they want taught to their children and he said that could be problematic. Parents need to either opt in or opt out their child. He suggested using bullet points in the disclosure box instead of boxes that need to be checked. Ron Blunck agrees option 2 should be taken out because it causes confusion. He said it is not manageable for teachers. Ted Taylor is surprised that the curriculum taught requires an opt in or opt out signed form. He said the curriculum should be appropriate for anyone. If they wanted additional information, they could sign up for it. He viewed the videos and said the Supersize Me could be seen by anyone but he had concerns with the Body Imaging video. Superintendent Jacobs said the policy could be approved tonight and then changes could be made, if needed. He reminded the board that they have authority to adapt policy. MOTION: Ron Blunck made a motion to approve the ECH Human Sexuality Policy with provisions to take the check boxes off the topics and list exactly what is going to be taught. Parents could either opt in or opt out their child from the human sexuality curriculum without having a choice as to what topics they want their child taught. Parents would also have the option to talk with the teacher to discuss the planned curriculum and/or review the materials. SECOND: Vice President Farmer seconded the motion. DISCUSSION: There was no further discussion. Superintendent Jacobs will revise the form and send a copy to board members. APPROVAL: The motion passed unanimously. Neil Carrigan abstained from voting because his wife teaches the adult roles class at the high school. Policies DAC Background Checks, DACA Duty to Report Superintendent Jacobs said the committee made a decision to remove date of birth off of the support staff application and out of the third paragraph of the policy. MOTION: Ron Blunck made a motion to approve the DAC Background Checks policy. SECOND: Ted Taylor seconded the motion. DISCUSSION: Vice President Farmer would like one word changed in the first paragraph of the second page. It now reads: the district will require an applicant to pay the costs of the background check as a condition for consideration for employment. He would like the word will changed to may. APPROVAL: The motion passed unanimously including changing the word from will to may. MOTION: Vice President Farmer made a motion to approve policy DACA Duty to Report. SECOND: The motion was seconded by Ron Blunck. DISCUSSION: There was no discussion. APPROVAL: Motion passed unanimously. Home School Applications MOTION: Ron Blunck made a motion to approve the home school applications. SECOND: The motion was seconded by Ted Taylor. DISCUSSION: There was no further discussion. APPROVAL: The motion passed unanimously. Board Member School Visits and Committee Reports: President Ken Durrant visited the high school. The school was cold because there have been problems with the boiler and the controls. Superintendent Jacobs said the heat should be working by tomorrow. A special technician has been called. Policies have already been discussed. President Durrant said the recreation board seems to be doing well under the new management. There was a discussion on possibly using the bottom portion of the field at Mountain Green Elementary School and the fairgrounds for additional soccer fields. President Durrant said he will take that information back to the recreation board. Vice President Farmer visited Morgan Middle School and spent time in Mrs. Wilde's science class. He also enjoyed listening to the band. Council of Government (COG) did not have a meeting and finances were discussed earlier in the board meeting. Neil Carrigan visited Mountain Green Elementary School. He likes the rotation of students to different teachers. He said there is a possibility for a $160,000 technology grant but the district would have to match $80,000. The deadline to submit the grant is the end of the year. Superintendent Jacobs said the technology committee could provide a detailed list of exactly how the money would be spent. He will have that information for the next board meeting. D'Lynn Poll said the money is in the budget if the board chooses to do it. The general consensus of the board is to go ahead with the grant. Neil Carrigan said the board does not have voting rights on the Morgan Education Foundation because the Foundation was not developed by the Morgan Board of Education. New members are needed. Superintendent Jacobs said it is not a bad idea to separate the board of education from the Morgan Education Foundation. Mr. Carrigan said the DATC has provided, through a grant, the opportunity for students to go as fast as they can with their DATC education. The money will be there for them. This is a pilot program. Ted Taylor visited the transportation department. More buses are definitely needed. He had people ask him if buses could go into gated communities to pick up students. D'Lynn Poll said it is her understanding that state law doesn't allow that. Superintendent Jacobs will get more information. Ron Blunck visited Morgan Elementary School and spent time with Principal Wolff, Alisa Griffith, preschool teacher and Mrs. Costley, fifth grade teacher. He is impressed with what is happening at the school. Mr. Blunck said the USBA will meet next month. Jacob Rice said the high school will be having a Veterans Day assembly, volleyball took state, winter sports are starting and the high school play will be November 18th through the 21st. He attended a suicide prevention program in Box Elder with Counselor Mrs. Field. He said the goal is to educate teachers and students on suicide prevention. Advanced Planning for Upcoming Events There will be no school visits or committee reports in December. Superintendent Jacobs will update the board calendar. President Durrant said a meeting is needed to start looking at solutions to overcrowded schools and continual enrollment growth. A timeline needs to be in place. The next board meeting is scheduled for December 1, 2015. There will be a work meeting at 4:00 p.m. prior to board meeting. There was no motion made to adjourn.

Notice of Special Accommodations (ADA)

NOTICE OF SPECIAL ACCOMMODATION DURING PUBLIC MEETINGS In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, individuals needing special accommodations (including auxiliary communicative aids and services) during this meeting should notify Denise Rich 801 829-3411

Notice of Electronic or Telephone Participation

None

Meeting Information

Meeting Location

240 East Yount Street
Morgan, 84050
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Contact Name

Denise rich

Contact Email

drich@morgan.k12.ut.us

Contact Phone

8018293411

Notice Posting Details

Notice Posted On

December 02, 2015 09:57 AM

Notice Last Edited On

December 02, 2015 09:57 AM

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